Winterville resident looks back on living 105 years today

WINTERVILLE - Mary Cauthen has lived in three centuries, but the passage of time has not diminished her touch of wisdom or sense of humor.

''The only times you have to mind other people is when you're young and when you get old. And they'll tell you what to do,'' she said with the hint of a smile in her clear, distinct voice.

Born on Feb. 4, 1898, Cauthen has no revealing reason why she has reached the age of 105.

''I don't know except maybe I've lived a clean life. I've never smoked a cigarette. I've never had a cocktail,'' said Cauthen, who plans to gather with family today for the celebration.

She was born in Winterville, one of nine children of William and Lula Anthony. Her grandfather, Dr. Thomas Anthony, was the city's first doctor in the 19th century, and had already died before she was born.

In 1921 she married Marshall Cauthen, whose family had moved to Athens from Elberton, where they worked as stock dealers in horses and mules. After marriage, she and her husband moved to the metro Miami area, where for many years she was the caterer for the Allapatta Lion's Club in Miami.

The couple had two children, Marshall, who is now deceased, and Luann Orr, who is married to Bill Orr, and now lives in Winterville after many years in Florida.

Cauthen said she and her husband returned to this area in the 1960s.

The Cauthen family in 1947 in front of their home in Florida. From left are Marshall, Mary and Luann Cauthen. On the steps is Cauthen's nephew.Special

''We bought a place in Athens on (U.S. Highway) 441. We lived there for 10 years and someone came along who wanted it several times more than we did. My husband was a salesman. I said he was a trader. Anything we had he'd sell. He never did offer to sell me or the children,'' she added with a laugh.

''I had a cousin, who lived here in Winterville (Mattie Coile) and she and I were close when we were children, so I said Mattie, 'We have sold our house. What are we going to do?' And she said 'Come down here and buy grandma's house (in Winterville).' So that's what we did.''

She was grateful for a return to her hometown.

''I loved it. I had a lot of friends and I practically knew everybody,'' she said.

She remembers seeing her first car up close. And it came at a time when one of her sisters was having a baby.

''A doctor came by and picked my Momma up. I'd seen them but that was the first car I'd been close to. I remember my mother tying up her hair. I thought don't ride in that,'' she said.

Luann Orr said her mother was always known for her apple pies, which she made in great numbers while working as a caterer in Florida.

This is a car that Marshall Cauthen drove in Elberton for his father prior to their marriage in 1921.Special

Today, Cauthen isn't able to cook, so she no longer makes the pies. Others in the family have tried to duplicate their mother's recipe.

''None of us got the hang of it,'' Orr said. ''It's just one of those things you took for granted.''

While she was a young woman in Winterville, Cauthen said she didn't work outside the home.

''I never had a job,'' she said. ''Young ladies then didn't have jobs. My father would have thought I'd disgraced the whole country.''

And while she can't get about like she once did, she doesn't sit idly around in her comfortable home on Main Street.

''If I can find something to read, I'm perfectly satisfied,'' she said.